


The Hyrule Games

by Relh99



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, F/M, Gen, M/M, Male Sheik, More characters to be added later, Sheik is a Separate Character, rewrite of the Hunger Games, there will be changes from the original source material
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-02 20:33:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16312241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relh99/pseuds/Relh99
Summary: 16 year old Link Faron regards the Hyrule Games as a death sentence when he steps forward to take his best friend, Sheik Harrikan's, place in the games. But Link has been close to death before- and survival for him is second nature. Without really meaning to, he becomes a contender. But if he is to win, he will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity, and life against love.Oh, and there's one more factor no one except Sheik knows.Link has no intentions of winning the games.





	1. The Reaping

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a complete rewrite of Suzanne Collins' book, The Hunger Games. This was an idea that I came up with when I was in middle school. I'm currently in my second year of college and finally felt like sitting down and writing this out. The Hunger Games was one of my favorite book series growing up, and I've always been a huge Legend of Zelda fan, so my middle school self felt like it would be a good idea to mash the two together. There will be major differences from the books, but that is because of how I want relationships to work. Originally, this was going to be a pretty faithful rewrite, but my shipping preferences have changed since middle school, so some major reworking has to be done. I hope that even with the changes and twists I plan on adding, you guys find this enjoyable!

Link's eyes flicker open as he awakes to a cold bed. His arm stretches out, searching for the thin blanket he owned, but finds nothing. He looks across the room to the second mattress and finds his grandmother and sister, Aryll, curled up under the blanket, sound asleep. Aryll had a habit of taking Link's pillow or blanket when she had nightmares. It was no surprise to Link to see her clutching his blanket to her chest. After all, today was the day of the reaping.

Link props himself up on one elbow. In the dim lighting, Aryll looks years younger, too young for her name to go into the reaping bowl. Right at her feet was the fat, orange cat Aryll had saved a year or so ago. Aryll had named him Pumpkin, insisting that his knotted, muddy fur matched the color of the gourd their grandma used to make soup. That cat hated Link. When Aryll had brought him home, Link had suggested drowning the kitten to put him out of his misery. That, and Link didn't want to worry about another mouth to feed. Obviously Aryll had been against the idea, crying and begging Link to keep him, and while Link had never actually attempted to drown the cat, he swears Pumpkin remembers the threat. 

Link swung both of his legs off of the bed and reached for the khaki colored trousers that were crumbled on the floor. He pulled them up and slid his feet into his hunting boots. He threw on a green shirt and tied his long hair up into a ponytail before tucking it into the long, green hat that once belonged to his father. He grabbed his forage bag, a small thing of goat cheese from the counter that was hidden under a wooden bowl, and headed out. The cheese was wrapped in basil leaves, keeping is safe as Link tucked it into his bag.

District 12 was known for its coal mines. This early in the morning, there were typically men and women with hunched shoulders and swollen knuckles headed to the mines, their sunken faces void of any emotion. Today was different though. The streets were empty and every house had their shutters closed tight. No one worked on the day of the reaping, and it didn't start until two. Most people slept in if they could.

Link's house was at the end of the street, closest to a tiny field of grass they called the Meadow. At the edge of the Meadow stood a 12 foot tall chain-link fence with barbed-wire loops on top of it to keep people from getting out. Or, at least that's what it's suppose to do in theory. The electricity that made the fence really dangerous was typically turned off, save for a few hours in the evening, making the fence safe to touch. The silent, nonexistent buzzing signifies that the fence is not electrified at the moment. Link walks over to a bush that conceals a small, two foot hole in the fence, and army crawls through. 

He's only a few feet into the woods before he retrieves a wooden bow and a quiver of 23 arrows from a hollowed out tree. The fence, while it mainly existed to keep people inside District 12, also kept dangerous animals out. However, animals meant meat, which meant food if you knew how to hunt. Link's father had taught him when he was younger, before he died in a mine explosion five years ago.

Trespassing in the woods was technically illegal, and poaching held the severest of penalties, but no one really cared in District 12. More people would do it if they had weapons, but not too many people had more than a knife. Link's bow was a rarity, made by his father. Before he died, his father could've made good money selling his weapons, but while poaching is usually allowed, selling weapons would've been punished with a public execution due to a charge for attempting to start a rebellion. 

In the fall, a few people will go out past the fence to pick apples, but they typically stayed within sight of the Meadow, close enough to run back if needed.

"District Twelve: Where you can starve to death in safety," Link mutters to himself. He glanced back for a moment to make sure no one heard him.

Link learned at a young age to hold his tongue when it came to speaking out against the District, the Capital, and the country of Hyrule as a whole. His grandmother whacked him every time he spoke his mind about anything government related. Link eventually learned this was because if a Peacekeeper over heard him, there would be trouble for the whole family, but he developed a habit of staying silent majority of the time. It was only on the other side of the fence where he felt safe enough to speak. That's not to say he wouldn't talk while inside the fence, but he didn't hold his tongue as much.

Link walked half a mile into the woods before coming across the one person that he trusted enough to speak his mind in front of- Sheik. Link smiled a bit and climbed the hill to meet him. Sheik was perched on the rocky ledge overlooking the valley, picking and eating the berries that grew there. 

"Hey, Link, look what I shot," Sheik says, holding up a loaf of bread with an arrow through it. Link chuckled. It was good bread from the bakery. 

Link took the bread from him and removed the arrow before inhaling the scent. "Mmm, it's still warm," Link whispers. "What'd it cost you?"

"Just a squirrel. Think the old man was feeling sorry for me. Wished me luck and everything," Sheik explaines.

"Well isn't that sweet," Link teases. "Aryll left us some cheese."

Link pulled out the cheese and Sheik's face lit up. "Thank you, Aryll! We're feasting like capital pigs today!" Sheik plucked a berry off of the bush and smiled at me. "Happy Hyrule Games!" He cheered, mimicking Navi Fae, the upbeat lady from the capital that comes every year to read out the names at the reaping. Sheik tossed the berry up in the air for Link. "And may the odds-" 

Link catches the berry in his mouth and bites down. "- be ever in your favor!" Link finished, laughing at the over joyous accent they both were mocking. 

Link watched as Sheik took the bread back and began to slice it with his knife. The two boys looked similar enough to be mistaken as brothers despite having no blood relation. They were both blond, tan, and fit. The one difference was Sheik's blood red eyes, passed down from a bloodline that existed before Hyrule became Hyrule over seventy years ago. Sheik and his family were the last of that bloodline in District 12. In wealthier districts, red eyes were more common, but in 12, only Sheik and his younger sister, Tetra, had the eyes. Not even Sheik's twin sister, Zelda, inherited them. 

Sheik spreads the cheese over the bread slices and places a basil leaf on top of them while Link began picking berries from the bushes. When they have enough food, the two settle down, enjoying the glorious weather along with their meal. Blue skies and a soft breeze paired with warm bread and fresh berries would've made any day a perfect day, but the thought of the reaping was still on their minds. 

"We could do it, you know," Sheik says quietly.

"Do what?" Link asks.

"Leave 12. Run off and live in the woods. You and I, we could make it," Sheik explains, his voice still low.

Link blinks in surprise. The idea was so crazy he didn't know how to respond.

"That is, if we didn't have our family members to watch out of," Shiek adds, quickly backtracking. 

Sheik was the provider for his family that consisted of his two sisters, and Link had his younger sister and grandmother to worry about. Even with both of them hunting to keep their families fed, there were plenty of days where their households would go to bed with empty stomachs, because their food needed to be traded for other necessities. 

"I never want to have kids," Link says.

Sheik shrugs. "I might, if I didn't live here."

"But you do," Link reminds him.

"Forget it," Sheik scoffs.

Link just shook his head. The conversation felt wrong. He couldn't just leave Aryll behind. She was one of the only people in this world Link loved. If he left her, she would be forced to enter her name in the reaping bowl more times to feed herself and their grandma. She would have to venture out into the woods to find enough food. Aryll didn't learn how to hunt, never wanted to learn. She couldn't be the provider for the family. Link couldn't just leave her behind.

As far as Sheik wanting kids, Link frowned. He knew that Sheik would have no issue finding a wife. He's handsome, strong enough to work in the mines when he turns 18, and he knew how to hunt. Girls whispered about him in school all the time, and for some reason that made Link jealous, though he couldn't figure out why. It's not like he wanted kids, or a wife for that matter.

"What do you want to do?" Link asks, trying to refocus his wandering mind. "We can hunt, fish, gather- whatever you want."

"Let's fish to start. After we catch a few, we can go gather in the woods. Let's try and get something nice for tonight."

After the reaping, everyone typically celebrates, relieved that their children weren't chosen for the Hyrule Games. However, at least two familes will lock their doors and try to figure out how they'll get through these next few weeks.

Link and Sheik do well that day. Before noon, they manged to catch a dozen fish, gather a bag of greens, and a gallon of strawberries. Link had found the patch a few years ago, but Sheik was the one who thought to string up mesh nets around it to keep the animals out.

Once they're back in the district, they head straight for the Bazaar, the black market that is located in the abandoned warehouses that once held coal. A lot of businesses were closed on reaping day, but the Baazar never shut down and always remained fairly busy. Sheik manages to trade six of the fish for two loaves of decent bread while Link trades another two for salt. Kina, the scrawny girl with pulled back black hair, accepts a handful of the greens in exchange for a two cucco wings and legs. 

Once they finish at the Baazar, the two boys head over to the mayor's house, intending on selling half of the strawberries. It's the mayor's daughter, Ilia, who answers the door. She's wearing an expensive off-white dress and her hair is done up in a green ribbon. Reaping clothes.

"Pretty dress," Sheik comments, his tone dry.

Ilia glares at him, unsure if he's being serious or not. She forces herself to press her lips together in a smile once she sees the strawberries in Link's hands. "Well, if I end up going to the Capital, I want to look my best, don't I?"

"You're not going to the Capital," Sheik responds coolly. "You have, what, five entries? I had that many when I was just 12 years old."

"That's not my fault," Ilia says in an attempt to defend herself.

"No one's fault. Just the way t hings are around here," Sheik shrugs. 

Ilia drops her smile and hands over the rupees for the strawberries to Link. He hands her the strawberries and pockets the money. 

"Good luck, Link," she says. Link just nods his head as she closes the door on them.

The two walk back to their homes in silence. Link's mind wanders to Sheik's comments towards Ilia. While Link himself had no problems with the mayor's daughter, he knew Sheik was right. The reaping system was unfair to those who were less fortunate. As soon as someone turns 12, they are eligible to be thrown into the games. At age 12, a person's name is only entered once. At age thirteen, twice, and so on up until age eighteen. That's when your name is entered at least seven times no matter what. 

There is a catch though. People who are between 12 and 18 can opt to enter their names in more times in exchange for a year's worth of grain and oil for one person. If willing, people will typically do this for every member of their family. At age 12, Link already had his name in three times. Sheik had his in 5 times, one for him, two for his sisters, and two for his parents, but his parents died later that year in the same accident that killed Link's dad, so when Sheik turned 13, he only had his name in 4 times. Sheik was a year older than Link and has a larger family, so he's always had more entries than Link, which scared the 16 year old to death.

Link understood why someone like Ilia, who has never had to even think about entering her name more times, would piss off Sheik. The chance of her name being drawn was a lot slimmer than most. It wasn't impossible for her name to get drawn, but it was very unlikely. 

Link's heard Sheik's rants about the Capital in full during their years in the woods together. Sheik had a strong opinion about the option to enter in your name multiple times. He claimed that it really only existed to keep the different classes feuding with each other, but neither one of them could afford to not take the extra food. 

Link glanced at Sheik who was still very obviously enraged by Ilia's attitude. It wasn't that Link didn't agree with Sheik, he just found his bitching kind of pointless. It's not like yelling about how fucked up the system is in the middle of the woods was going to result in any change, but Link always lets Sheik yell. He doesn't have the heart to tell him that complaining is pointless and a waste of breath.

Link and Sheik divide their spoils and turn to head back home to their families.

"See you in the square," Sheik says, turning away.

"Make sure you wear something pretty," Link teases. Sheik flicks him off without turning back around and Link laughs softly to himself. 

Back home, Link finds that his sister and grandmother are already ready to go. Aryll is in her first reaping outfit, a faded blue dress with large orange flowers towards the bottom. It's a bit large, but their grandma had pinned the straps so it doesn't fall too far down. Aryll's hair is hanging down so Link finds two hair ties and grabs their brush.

"Here, let me put your hair back," he says, waving her over to the bed. 

Aryll sits on the floor while Link brushes her hair back, dividing it into two sections on each side. He ties the sides off, resulting in two even pigtails. 

"Link, the tub is ready for you," their grandmother says once he's done doing his sister's hair. "Hurry up before it gets cold."

Link pats Aryll's shoulder and heads back to the bathroom. He strips down and gets in the tub, just soaking before attempting to scrubs off the dirt and sweat from earlier. He pulls his hair free of the ponytail and washes his hair. When he gets out of the tub, he is surprised to find his father's old blue tunic with the white sword-like design around the collar hanging up for him. His grandma must've pulled it out for him.

Link dries off and puts on his best khaki colored pants and pulls the blue tunic over his head. He ties his hair back and slides into his familiar hunting boots. He walks back out to the main room to find his green hat, but his grandmother is holding it hostage.

"You'll get it back after the reaping," she says, holding it tight. "This is insurance. You can't get called if you want your hat back."

Link smiles weakly and hugs his grandma. He can feel her trembling beneath him, but he says nothing. Aryll comments on his outfit and he turns around to hug her as well. He felt stupid for worrying about her so much. She only had her name in the reaping bowl once. The odds of her getting picked were a million to one essentially. 

Link pulls away and puts on his best grin. "Come on, let's eat."

Their grandmother already had the fish and greens cooking in a stew. They drink milk from Aryll's goat, Seagull, and dip the rough bread made from the grain Link got by entering his name several times in the stew in an attempt to soften it up and give it more flavor. No one has much of an appetite, but they all refuse to let any of the food go to waste. 

At one o'clock, they all leave together and head for the square. Attendance is mandatory unless you're basically dying and cannot move from your bed. 

Despite the bright banners and camera crew from the Capital itself, the atmosphere feels grim. There are cameras everywhere to film the reaping. After all, this was essentially a huge sporting event, especially to those in the Capital who never had to worry about getting their names drawn for the games.

People all file in and silently check in. All the children ages 12 through 18 are led to a roped off area where they are then sorted by age and gender. Boys on the left, girls on the right. 18 year old's in the front, 12 year old's in the back. Families were given a spot around the perimeter. 

Link tucks his arms in as close to his body as he can. It's overly crowded and there were several people already crying. The square was large, but not big enough to hold the district population of eight thousand. Link ignores them and focuses on the stage that has been set up in front of the Justice Building. Up on the stage are three chairs, a podium, and two large glass bowls filled with slips of paper, labeled "Boys" and "Girls." Link eyes the boys bowl. 20 of those slips read "Link Faron." 

In two of the three chairs are the mayor, Bo Ordon, and District 12's escort, Navi Fae. She has a scary white grin, blueish hair, and a silver suit on. Bo and Navi are whispering to themselves, looking concerned about the empty seat. 

As the clock strikes two, mayor Bo steps up to the podium and begins to read the story of Hyrule's history. He lists the disasters, the storms, the droughts, the seas that swallowed up a large portion of the land, the brutal war that resulted in the Capital and its' 13 Districts, which brought peace to the land. He then switches tones, talking about the Dark Days that resulted in the creation of the Hyrule Games. How the districts rebelled against the Capital and lost, resulting in the 13th district's destruction. To keep the other 12 in check, the Hyrule Games were created to remind the citizens that the Capital could steal away their children whenever they wanted and kill them. The single victor was to show that the Capital could also be merciful if they so desired. 

The rules of the game were simple, and Link found himself repeating them in his head over and over while the mayor continued to speak. Every district must put forward one male and one female tribute. There are a few weeks of preparation once they are chosen, but at the end of those weeks, the children are all thrown into an arena where they must fight to the death. Only one person may walk out alive. 

Mayor Bo reads off all two of District 12's past victors, only one of which was still alive. Dark Reflet, a drunk, 38 year old man, who just so happens to appear at the mention of his name. He stumbles onto the stage and plops himself into the third empty chair. He's very obviously drunk, and Link can't help but snicker quietly to himself. Dark was always known for his drunken speeches at the reapings. The crowd claps for him, but it quickly fades back to general silence as Dark attempts to give Navi a hug from his chair. She pushes him off and Link chuckles a little louder. Dark always managed to lighten the mood, whether he meant to or not. 

Mayor Bo on the other hand looked distressed at Dark's antics. The whole this was being televised live, and every year, thanks to Dark, District 12 was made a laughingstock. Mayor Bo quickly introduces Navi so she can escape Dark's attempts at getting a hug. 

As energetic as ever, Navi skips over to the podium and smiles brightly. "Happy Hyrule Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" she cheers, her voice two octaves too high. Link zones out again as she rambles about how much of an honor it is to be representing District 12. Everyone knows she's lying, but like always, no one says anything.

Link turns around for a brief second to look for Sheik. Sheik smiles weakly before nodding towards the stage to remind Link to turn around. Link focuses back on Navi and lets his mind wander yet again. Sheik had 24 entries this year. It wasn't that many more than Link, but that number still caused him to worry. There are thousands of slips, so Link knows that the odds of Sheik's name getting pulled are slim, but he can't help but wrap his arms around himself, squeezing himself in fear. 

Navi makes her way over to the glass bowls and grins. "Ladies first!" she announces.

She's quick to reach in a draw a name. She unfolds the paper and takes a second to read it to herself before cheering out the name printed.

"Zelda Harrikan!"


	2. What Are the Odds?

Link stood there, struggling to exhale, unable to speak. He watched as Zelda walked past, down the center aisle. He can hear Sheik screaming profanities, but he doesn't turn back. He just watches as Sheik's twin sister walks up onto the stage. Her hair was tied back with blue ribbon and her pink dress blew in the wind. She had a white shawl wrapped around her shoulder and a brown belt around her waist. She stood with confidence as Navi began to congratulate her. 

Link did the math in his head again. Zelda only had her names in the bowl six times. Sheik never let her put her name in extra times. What are the odds that her name would be drawn?

Sheik was still screaming and Link finally turned his attention back to his closest friend. He was a mess, kicking and screaming as Peacekeepers held him back. If this were any other event, Link would've been terrified to see Sheik being held by a Peacekeeper, but at the reaping, reactions like this were normal. He knew so long as Sheik didn't attack anyone, he would be fine. 

Navi ignored Sheik's screams and went over to the glass bowl with all the male names.

"And now, the gentlemen," she announced.

Link blacked out for a moment from pure shock. One moment, Sheik was kicking and screaming. The next, he was silently marching towards the stage. Link never even heard Sheik's name get called, but the gods are cruel, so of course he would get called at the same time as his twin sister. Of course he'd be forced to fight his sister to the death. The thought of Sheik dying ignited something inside of Link, and just before his friend reached the stage, Link had pushed his way to the walkway and stared down Navi.

"I volunteer!" Link shouts, gasping for air. "I volunteer as tribute!"

The people on stage look confused. No one volunteers from District 12. Only a handful of people have ever volunteered from here, and all of them died within the first few days of the games. It was a death sentence for Link to volunteer, but for some reason, he didn't care. All he cared about was keeping Sheik safe, and making sure Zelda made it back home alive. If Sheik went, Zelda would defiantly win between the two of them, Sheik would never let her die, but Link couldn't bare the thought of his best friend dying. 

"Excellent!" Navi claps. "However, we do have a protocol to follow, and we aren't asking for volunteers just yet-"

"Who cares?" Mayor Bo asks, cutting Navi off. He's staring at Link with a familiar type of sorrow. He didn't know Link that well, but he knows that Link is the boy that sells him strawberries, the boy that rarely speaks. To hear him shout so loud to volunteer... it was chilling. "What does it matter? Let him come forward."

Sheik is frozen by the stage, staring at Link with a look of pure terror. As Link walks by, Sheik grabs his arm and shakes his head violently. "No, Link! You can't do this! I can't lose you both in one day!" he says, his voice shaking with hysteria. 

"Sheik, let go," Link says, trying to keep his voice steady. "Let. Go."

Someone pulls Sheik off of Link, allowing him to walk up the stairs. He carries himself over to Zelda, who is now tearing up. She engulfs him in a bone crushing hug and whispers thank yous and sorry's in his ear. 

There's a hush over the crowd. Two tributes hugging it out is a sight that never happens. The traditional approach is a simple handshake before being escorted off of the stage.

Navi taps Link on the shoulder, causing him to pull away from Zelda's embrace.

"We all love your spirit and willingness to be a participant in these games, but we still don't know your name, sir," Navi says, grabbing Link's arm to lead him over to the microphone.

Link clears his throat and stares into the crowd. He makes eye contact with Sheik and takes a deep breath.

"Link Faron."

"Don't want that Sheik fellow to steal all the glory, huh?" Navi giggles. Link bites back a remark and looks down at the stage. "Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute, Link Faron!"

To Link's surprise, no one claps. A lot of people knew him, but they never really paid any special interest to him. Everyone knew Link and Sheik as the main hunters, the kids who would go outside the fence. They also knew how sick it was that in the original drawing, Sheik would've had to fight his twin sister, Zelda. So the crowd remained silent. Navi clapped, but she was the only one. Link shuffled nervously under the stares of the entire population of District 12. No one was happy with this turn of events. 

Sheik stares at Link while he places three of his fingers on his lips before raising them up. Several people follow in his example until the entire crowd is raising three fingers. Link steps back closer to Zelda and grabs her arm to steady himself. The three finger salute was typically reserved for funerals to say goodbye to someone you love. 

Dark chooses this time to stumble over to Link and pull him away from Zelda yet again, throwing an arm around the poor boy's neck.

"I like this kid!" Dark laughs, his breath reeking with the scent of liquor. "He's got spunk! More than you, fuckers!" He shouts, pointing randomly at what could either be the crowd or the cameras. "More than all ya fuckers!"

Dark lets go of Link and takes a step forward to say more, but loses his footing and stumbles off stage. Link silently thanks him for distracting everyone and once again backpedals towards Zelda. She grabs his hand and they share a look of understanding. Link's mind wanders back to Sheik's suggestion of running off. If they had done it, if they had left, both he and Sheik would be safe, but Zelda would be all alone, no one to watch her back. 

Dark is whisked away and Navi steps back up to the podium, trying to keep the energy up. "What an exciting day!" she squeals in excitement. "But there's still more to come! Your mayor has a speech prepared, I believe!"

She hands the podium off to Mayor Bo, who begins to read the Treaty of Treason as he does every year since it's required, but once again, Link finds himself zoning out. The reality of his situation was just starting to hit him. What if Sheik hated him for volunteering? What if Zelda died while in the arena? What if he died? Who would take care of Aryll?

The mayor finishes reading the Treaty of Treason and motions for Link and Zelda to shake hands, seemingly unaware that they were currently holding hands. Link and Zelda step away from each other to shake hands, but Link finds himself pulling Zelda in for another hug. It doesn't last as long as the first one. They pull away quickly to face the crowd as the Hyrule national anthem plays. 

Link tries to think of the odds of him surviving. He tries to think of the odds of Zelda surviving. 

Unfortunately, the odds have not been in his favor lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lot shorter than the last one, and I'm sorry for that. Because of how I'm writing this, I had to cut out a lot of chapter two from the original book. Hopefully the cuts won't be as large in future chapters. I will never post a chapter that is shorter than 1,000 words, but this is about a third of the size as the first chapter. Chapter 3 should be much longer than this one!
> 
> If you have any ideas for tributes in the other districts, let me know! I have a few of them planned out, but if you really want to see a certain Legend of Zelda character in here, just let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading!


End file.
